If some is good, is more better? Well, that depends on what we’re talking about. Horst Bohner, soybean specialist with OMAFRA, definitely supports moving towards optimal number of plants per acre and that might mean higher seeding rates, but when it comes to tillage and fertilizer, less can certainly be more. Soybeans are unlike other… Read More
Category: Crop Schools
The 2012 drought that hit Ontario producers hard, hit Indiana farmers even harder. So hard in fact that it was one of the worst yielding crop years on record. That number being relative to what’s expected given technology and management practices of the time. Needless to say, that puts drought tolerance as an issue that’s… Read More
In part 1 of our conversation with Dr. Hugh Earl of the University of Guelph he talked about the impact water stress can have on soybean yields. That study suggested that at some point during a number of growing seasons, even if rainfall was adequate, some yield was being lost to water stress. One of… Read More
There’s generally always enough moisture metered out through the growing season to finish the soybean crop, but soybeans can soak up a lot of water and translate that into yield if it’s there. But by how much? What are we really losing to drought stress? Dr. Hugh Earl of the University of Guelph and colleagues… Read More
Ever wonder what the Canola Council of Canada does and who is involved? RealAgriculture.com caught up with Patti Miller, president of the council, to ask her those questions and many more. For example, 2012 was in some ways a fantastic year for the crop — a huge number of acres went in and planned crush… Read More
Spring wheat may not be the highest acreage crop in Ontario, but it’s still an important crop for many, especially for those who need or sell straw. Choosing the right spring wheat variety takes a bit of research, but that research is easy to do with GoCereals.ca. In this video, Peter Johnson, OMAFRA’s wheat specialist,… Read More
It’s no secret that the striped flea beetle is a tougher opponent than the more common crucifer flea beetle. This canola pest tends to emerge earlier than the crucifer type and isn’t as easily killed by commonly used seed treatments. That does not mean, however, that the striped flea beetle is resistant to neonicotinoids, as… Read More
After years of work and consultation, the federal government yesterday announced the Fair Rail Freight Service Act bill which includes an arbitration process when negotiations breakdown between shippers and rail companies and hefty fines levied against railways should they violate agreements. The amendment to the Transportation Act is an important milestone in balancing the commercial… Read More
The standard 90 pounds of nitrogen on wheat in Ontario just doesn’t cut it anymore. That’s according to OMAFRA Wheat Specialist Peter Johnson. Johnson noted that some of the top growers in Ontario are using anywhere from 130 to 150 lb of nitrogen applied to ground that doesn’t have residual nitrogen from a cover crop…. Read More
An early spring with warm conditions, decent moisture at planting and high-yield-potential genetics make for a best-case scenario in the face of unfavourable weather conditions. The 2012 corn crop generally started out with excellent root structure and good moisture before Mother Nature turned off the top and cranked the heat. In spite of the dry… Read More
A few key environmental and agronomic factors converged in the 2012 crop that led to some surprising and even outstanding soybean yields. Of course, there were areas that suffered from dry weather, but there were also some areas that achieved yields in the 80 bushel range — some small plots even topped 100 bushels an… Read More
Do you know how many pounds per bushel of phosphorus and potassium corn pulls out of the soil? Nitrogen gets all the attention in crop production, but these two nutrients are also very important to corn production, and, in years of decent yields, the total pounds per acre of P and K drawn out of… Read More
Let’s put the gong show of a canola crop that was 2012 behind us and look ahead to 2013. Except that we can’t entirely, because much of what plagued the crop this year is likely to be a factor next year (the one wild card being aster yellows). Clint Jurke, agronomist with the Canola Council… Read More
Keeping the crop in the bin during market dips but still having the bills paid is one advantage of using a cash advance program. For canola and several other crops, the cash advance is administered by the Canadian Canola Growers Association. Farmers can access $100,000 interest free, and up to another $300,000 borrowed at CIBC’s… Read More
Lentil struggled in some areas this year, as areas of Saskatchewan still had a excess moisture or the hangover from it to deal with. Still other areas were very dry, or suffered from extreme weather. Of note, fields with tight lentil/wheat rotations certainly suffered lower yields versus fields with at least one year of an… Read More